Waiting All My Life
by MeganRachel09
Summary: It was in this evergreen city that everything I had heard in myths and legends really came to life for me. I learned that the very creatures of legend that people feared but never believed in did exist and were living among us. Canon pairings. Bella OOC
1. Intro

My name's Bella Swan and I'm not your typical teenage girl. When I was just a baby, barely a few months old, my mom left my dad, taking me with her. She was desperate to escape the ever wet city that was Forks, Washington. She brought me to Phoenix, Arizona where we lived with a friend of hers for the first few years, until I turned five, at which time my mom decided it was time for us to get our own place and rented an apartment.

It was fun when it was just the two of us. Every Friday night, we rented movies and stayed in, laughing and eating junk food while watching the movies we had rented. Even when I got to high school and started going out with friends on the weekends, I still made sure to save every Friday night for my girl's night with Mom.

But that all changed the summer before my junior year of high school. My dad had always been in my life; he was just sort of on the back burner. Until he decided to throw himself back into our lives with a new determination totally uncharacteristic of my father. He would make the commute from Forks to Phoenix at least once a month and usually on the weekends, although sometimes it was during the week.

It was awesome. When my dad was there, it was no longer just my mom and me. We were almost like an actual family.

It wasn't until almost the end of my junior year that I realized that my parents weren't just friends. They weren't just getting along together; they were actually getting together. The idea didn't disturb me nearly as much as I guessed it should have. They were my parents, after all. I was just happy that, with each and every trip my dad made down to Phoenix, we were getting closer and closer to being a real family.

I never realized that being a real family didn't necessarily mean what I thought it meant. I thought that, if my parents did get back together, like fully back together, my dad would move in with us in Phoenix. It never crossed my mind that I was going to be asked to pick up my life and move to the miserably wet Forks, Washington.

When my parents finally did tell me we were moving as a family to Forks, I was confused. How did they expect for me to just leave everything I had here? I mean, I had friends and it was my senior year of high school. Who really wants to move to a new school in the middle of their senior year? Not me.

My friends were, needless to say, shocked when I told them I was moving. On the morning of the move, I was standing on the front lawn in a huge group hug with my friends Maddie, Grace, Jaslyn, Johnny and Brent. Everyone was... emotional, you could say, and I didn't take it very well when my mom called me to the car. Maddie started crying when I took a step away and I rushed back into her arms. We all swore that we would keep in touch. It wasn't like we were never going to see each other again. I had every intention of moving back here for college next year.

When I was finally able to separate myself from my friends, tears were now flowing freely from my eyes as well as Maddie's, Grace's and Jaslyn's. Even the boys looked like they were on the verge of tears. Johnny wrapped a tentative arm around Jaslyn's shoulder as I stepped into the car. I smiled through my tears as I realized that maybe this move would be good for someone at least. Johnny and Jaslyn had been skirting around admitting their obvious feeling for each other for almost a year now and it seemed as if they were finally going to do something about it.

The drive to Forks was long, boring and terse. My dad was driving, his hand resting against my mom's knee as she sat next to him. I love my parents, really I do, but it really wasn't fair that they were forcing me to up and leave my home and my friends in the middle of my senior year. My mom kept glancing back at me through the rearview mirror and, each time I was aware of her gaze on mine, I would roll my eyes and look out the window.

When we reached Forks, it was just how I had expected it to be, just as my mom had described it all those times; rainy, cloudy and impossibly green. Too much green for my taste. I made up my mind upon arrival in that green town that I wouldn't make any friends here. I would purposely separate myself from everyone else in this city. I was hellbent and determined to make my parents feel my misery.

Somewhere, deep inside myself, I was aware that I was being a bitch. I knew I was being unfair to my parents, but I couldn't bring myself to change. I didn't want to change. The only thing I wanted was to go home to Phoenix. It wasn't until later on in the move that I realized my attitude was affecting much more than I had intended for it to. I was taking a toll on my parents' newly reconstructed marriage, but even that realization wasn't enough to get me to stop acting miserable.

Even when I met... them. I couldn't stop. The act had become a part of me. For almost a year, ever since I found out I was leaving Phoenix, I had been acting miserable and it was too hard to change that. Until Edward. He let me see how ridiculous I was being. I couldn't think straight around him, much less act differently than I really felt.

If I was being truthful, Forks wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The people were actually pretty nice. I found myself making friends unintentionally. Slowly, very slowly, the act disappeared. I was becoming myself again and my parents started to see that and their marriage strengthened again.

I had come to Forks determined not to make any friends, but in reality I had found more than I had ever deemed possible. I found friends and above all, love in the most unlikely of places, the most unlikely of creatures.

It was in this ever-green city that everything I had heard in myths and legends really came to life for me. I learned that the very creatures of legend that people feared but never really believed in, really did exist and were living among us but they weren't as scary, as dangerous, as legend told. Or were they?

**New story. I like it. Haha. Pleas review. I need your input. I need to know what you think about it. :) Lol. So I already posted chapter one last night, but I changed my mind and wrote an intro to explain things better, so I'm swapping them around. The chapter one that I had posted is going to become chapter two. :) So yes. Reviews please! ♥  
**


	2. Chapter 1: School

I sat up in my bed and looked around my room, the white comforter bunched up around my waist. Of course the walls were dark. There was no light coming in from outside since it was pouring down rain outside… still

I had been in this city for all of two days and more rain had fallen than I had seen in my entire existence down in Phoenix, Arizona. Now, don't get me wrong. I like rain… in small, reasonable doses, but non-freaking-stop? Ridiculous.

Another ridiculous thing about this town is its name: Forks. I mean, seriously that's not a name, it's a freaking utensil.

Deep breaths. I just had to remind myself to take deep breaths and everything would be fine. I closed my eyes and let the cool air fill my lungs before I forcefully blew it back out.

"Bella, honey, you have to come down soon or you'll be late for school!" I groaned and flopped back down on my pillow as my mom called up the stairs to me.

"You know what, Mom?" I called back. "I'm not feeling too well. I think I'm allergic to the rain, maybe I should just move back to Phoenix and you and Dad can stay here."

My mom was silent for a moment and I could just imagine her guilty expression. She knew how I felt about this move and for the past few days, I had been playing heavily on her guilty conscience. You see, my dad has lived here all his life, but when I was a baby, my mom got sick of the never-ending rain and moved out with me, taking me to Phoenix, Arizona. Oh, how I loved the sun. Anyway, my dad had taken to coming to visit every chance he got and, apparently, he had won my mom back over and she decided that we should move back in with him… in the middle of my senior year of high school. What fun.

Suddenly, my door swung open and my mom was standing there, but her expression was no longer guilty, now it was annoyed.

"Isabella Marie Swan, you get out of that bed right now! I am sick and tired of you trying to make me feel like shit for simply living my life," my mother exclaimed, standing in the doorway. I could feel my eyes widen in surprise as she yelled at me. "I have spent the past seventeen years of my life alone and I am tired of it. Most teenagers would be happy that their parents got back together!"

"Mom, I am happy that you and Dad are back together, but I don't see why we had to move here! I hate it here! The rain is never-ending and I don't know anyone here! It's my senior year, Mom," I whined. "It's supposed to be the best year of my high school career!"

--

Less than an hour, I found myself in the front seat of my mom's car, my arms crossed over my chest as I glared up at the school in front of me.

"Oh, Bella, stop pouting," my mom pleaded, but I rolled my eyes and stepped out of the car without responding, slamming the door behind me as I hitched my bag more firmly over my shoulder and trudged over to the office.

I pulled open the door to the office and walked up to the front desk. The receptionist was on the phone and signaled for me to wait a minute, so I stood there patiently, drumming my fingers on the desk in front of me. I looked around me and saw that outside of the glass door, there were quite a few students milling around; the typical high school morning. However, there were five kids that I saw standing in a far corner that stood out from the crowd of students.

Their skin was pale, paler than anyone else's in this sunless hell-hole. They were all devastatingly beautiful and I let my eyes wander over each of them. The first one I saw was huge, a giant of a man. He looked more like a teacher or… professional football player than a student. His curly hair was a dark brown.

Standing next to him in a clearly possessive position was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her straight blond hair cascaded down her shoulders and she stood only an inch or so shorter than the football player guy. One word came to mind when I saw her: perfection. And I got the feeling that she knew she how gorgeous she was.

The next person I saw was a tall blond-haired boy. He was muscular, but nowhere near as built as the first guy and taller. He looked like the quietest one of the group, shy and helpful. Something about him just screamed emo, but not in the let's-wear-tons-of-black-and-cut-myself way, more in tune with people's emotions.

Next to him was a cute, miniature-looking person. Her hair was a dark black, cropped short, just reaching her collarbone and spiked out in every direction. She was bouncing around excitedly, looking every inch the ballerina, until she suddenly froze, staring out into space, a dazed look on her face.

All of her friends turned to look at her except for one, the only one I had yet to analyze. He turned to look directly at me, his eyes boring into mine, which widened in surprise at his shockingly dark topaz eyes. His bronze hair was disheveled, almost falling into his eyes, but it was too short to reach cover his hypnotizing orbs. He was tall and lanky, just barely taller than the blond boy, and much thinner, but in a muscular way. His tan sweater hugged his chest and biceps, straining just enough to hint at the treasure that lay beneath.

Suddenly, I realized that the eyes of each and every one of them were on me and I blushed, turning around to look at the receptionist, who had just hung up the phone.

"Can I help you, dear?" she asked, looking at me expectantly as I cleared my throat and nodded.

"Yes. I'm new here and I need to get my schedule," I said softly.

"Are you… Isabella Swan?" the receptionist asked, picking up a piece of paper on her desk and regarding it closely.

"Bella. Yes I am," I said, trying to reign in the flash of annoyance that flooded through me at the sound of my full name.

"Bella Swan," she corrected herself, holding the paper out to me. "Here you go. I hope you have a good first day here at Forks High."

I took the paper from her and smirked to myself. The way she said that made it sound like a television ad. Ridiculous.

I smiled one last time at the receptionist and turned around, noticing immediately that the mysterious, gorgeous group was still there, but only two of them were looking at me still; the bronze-haired boy and the short, pixie-like girl.

The short girl looked… apprehensive as she watched me push the door open and the bronze-haired boy looked frustrated and confused. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked away, almost running into an eager-looking blond guy who was grinning down at me.

"Um… hi?" I said, wondering why the heck this guy was invading my personal bubble.

"I'm Mike Newton. Are you new here?" he asked, sticking his hand in the limited space between our bodies as if for a handshake.

"No. I'm not new here, I've just been flying under the radar, you know, trying to go by undetected, but you just ruined that for me," I said sarcastically. "Seriously, have you ever seen me around here before? No? Well that does tend to point toward the fact that, yes, I am new here. Very observant."

"Hey, I was just trying to be nice and maybe be your friend," Mike said, holding his hands out in front of him as if to say 'I surrender.'

"Well I'm not here to make friends. All I want is to get through the next half a year until I graduate and then I can go back to where I want to be, which is not here," I said, turning around and storming away just as the bell rang.

I sighed and looked down at my schedule. Calculus with Mr. Bankston. I groaned. Calculus was my worst subject in school. What a great way to start off the day. I managed to find the classroom and made my way inside, going to show the teacher my schedule. The jerk made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself. We were obviously not going to get along.

"I'm Bella Swan. I'm from Phoenix and I moved here against my will. That's really all you need to know," I said, throwing a fake smile at the teacher before I took a seat to the back of the classroom.

My next class was English with Mrs. Keating. I smiled. English was my favorite subject in school and the teacher didn't make me introduce myself. Even better.

It was in this class that I met her. Jessica Stanley, the most annoying girl on the planet, in my cynical opinion. She leaned over the aisle to talk to me, ignoring every one of my attempts to end the conversation. The girl even invited me to eat lunch with her and her friends, an invitation that I eagerly declined.

Lunch. It made me think of my friends back in Phoenix. At lunch, we would all laugh and joke around and share all our food; it was basically a potluck lunch everyday. But now, thanks to my _wonderful _parents, I would never get that again.

I knew I was making this move more difficult than it had to be, but I didn't care. I didn't want to be here. I just wanted to go home. To Phoenix. To my friends. To my sun-filled life.

I took one step into the cafeteria and saw all the friends sitting around laughing and having fun and immediately turned around. I didn't know where I was going, but I was not going in that cafeteria to be mocked and have my misery thrown in my face.

I was walking the near-empty hallways when I saw the room. It must have been the music classroom because it was full of instruments; a piano, a drum set, some brass instruments, but most importantly the _guitars._ I looked around me and tentatively walked into the room, unsure of whether or not I was allowed to be in here.

I walked through the room, straight to the back wall, where all the guitars were hanging off of their hooks and took an acoustic down, sighing in the heavenly feel of the wood and metal strings against my fingers. I plucked at a few strings absentmindedly, wincing back at the out-of-tune sound that reached my ears and started fiddling with the tuning keys until I was satisfied that it was as tuned as I would get it.

My fingers were working of their own accord, playing a familiar tune and I didn't really remember what it was from, but I knew it was a sad song, whatever it was. I closed my eyes as I let the music flow from my fingers, picking up speed until I was suddenly aware of a presence in the room.

I snapped my eyes open and looked around the dark room. There, in the doorway was the bronze-haired boy from this morning. He stepped into the room, looking around cautiously and keeping a safe distance between us.

"Hi," he said slowly.

I just nodded at him. "You're really good on the guitar," he said warily, standing against the opposite wall as me.

"Thanks…" I said slowly, wondering why he was being so cautious. He nodded his head, running his hand over the piano keys softly. The silence was making me uncomfortable, so I cleared my throat and he looked up at me like he was concentrating really hard on me. "Well, I'm gonna go now."

"Bye," Bronze Hair said as I carefully put the guitar back on its wall stand and left the room. When I glanced over my shoulder, Bronze Hair was seated at the piano, positioning his hands over the keys as an assortment of beautiful notes sang from the piano. I turned to face forward again and walked down the hall, unsure of where to go.

I checked the time on my phone and saw that there were only a few minutes left of lunch, so I decided to start walking towards my next class: Biology.

Just as I reached the door to the classroom, the bell rang, so I walked into the room. The only person there was the teacher and I walked up to him and handed him my schedule.

"Welcome to Forks, Miss Swan," the teacher said, smiling kindly as he directed me to what was, according to him, the only seat that no one sat in. As I piled my books neatly on my desk in front of me, I was aware that people were starting to file into the classroom.

After a moment, someone sat heavily into the chair next to mine. I looked up and groaned when I saw the annoying boy from earlier today. Mark… something…? No. Mike.

"Oh God. Please tell me you're not the one that sits here," I said, closing my eyes tightly and turning my head away from him.

"Well… no," he said. "But I just wanted to take this second opportunity to welcome you to Forks High."

"Please don't," I said coldly.

"Why are you being such a bitch to me?" he asked, looking slightly down.

"Frankly? You come across as that lost puppy dog type. I bet if I batted my eyelashes in your direction, you would fall over yourself to do whatever I asked of you," I said, leaning in closer to him and lowered my voice. "I don't like people like that."

I straightened up again. "Plus, like I already told you, I don't want to make friends here. I just want to coast through the remainder of this school year so I can get the hell out of this godforsaken rainy city," I hissed, slumping down in my chair and crossing my arms over my chest as I pouted. "You can leave now," I added, not bothering to look up as Mike did as I asked and got up silently, walking to a desk a few rows back.

The tardy bell rang moments later and the other half of my desk was still empty. I hoped against all hope that I would be alone for the remainder of the year, my heart sinking when I heard the door open. I turned around, my eyes locking with the topaz ones of Bronze Hair. He looked shocked to see me here as he stepped through the door.

"You're late, Mr. Cullen," Mr. Banner said in an authoritative voice.

"Sorry. I got held up," Bronze Hair said, his eyes still on me, clouding more and more with caution with each step he took towards me. He reached the seat next to mine and gracefully sat down in it, sliding it as far from me as possible, but angling it towards me as Mr. Banner turned to address the class, giving instructions for the lab project we were doing.

"I'm Edward Cullen," Bronze Hair said as Mike came to our table, setting a microscope down in front of us, carefully avoiding meeting my eyes.

"Bella Swan," I said, ignoring the resentful look Mike shot at me.

Edward looked at me calculatingly, making me shift uncomfortably in my seat. He seemed to realize that he was making me uncomfortable and turned his attention to the microscope, fiddling absentmindedly with the eyepiece as his eyes roamed the class, falling on each person in the room for a moment before he looked back at me.

"So whatever you said to Newton must have been brilliant because I've never seen him so upset in the time I've been here," Edward said with a slight smirk, obviously struggling to make small talk.

"Oh… yeah, I was kind of a bitch to him. I need to work on that," I said, glancing back at Mike to find that he was staring at my back, but he quickly looked away, trying to hide it.

"He is quite annoying at times," Edward said with a slight smirk. "And puppy dog-like."

I ripped my gaze away from Mike abruptly to look at Edward. That was what I had called Mike earlier, but how did Edward know that? He wasn't around when I said that.

I had only been at this school for a day and already I had managed to get on friendly-ish terms with who was to be the most mysterious man I would ever meet.

**My first vampire story. I like the idea of it, do you guys? Haha. So this is my third story, crazy. It's going to be hectic for me, trying to keep up with all of them. Don't expect any updates for the next week. Finals are this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Review please? They make me really happy. **


End file.
